Local council rejects proposal to restrict beach huts to residents only

A municipal committee in Hjørring has voted down a plan to limit access to Løkken’s iconic beach huts to locals, despite complaints that many huts sit empty most of the summer, reports Danish broadcaster DR.

The 500 white wooden huts along Løkken’s beach are in such high demand that the current waiting list stretches to an estimated 175 years, making them nearly impossible to obtain. Local resident Jes Langagergaard argues the system is flawed, as many huts are owned by people from distant regions who rarely use them.

“We rented a hut from someone who lived on Zealand—she only came up once or twice a year. We see many neighbouring huts that never get used,” Langagergaard told DR’s P1 Morgen, adding that the huts should be occupied throughout the summer to attract more tourists and revitalise the area.

The centre-right Venstre party had proposed restricting the waiting list to residents living within 50 kilometres of Løkken, but Hjørring’s Technical and Environmental Committee rejected the idea this week. Committee chair Søren Homann (Conservative) called the proposal unfair, noting that locals who move away for studies or work could lose their place in the queue.

“There’s a question of fairness. If someone joined the list at 18 and later moves to Aarhus or Odense, they’d be removed. That doesn’t seem right,” Homann said. He also dismissed the idea of monitoring hut usage, comparing it to summer homes: “We don’t set rules on how many weeks people must spend in their holiday homes either.”

Langagergaard suggests a partial rental model, where 200 huts could be leased out by the local tourism association to shorten wait times and increase occupancy. While Homann doesn’t rule out revisiting the issue, he maintains that removing people from the waiting list—now closed to new applicants—is not the solution.